Extractor Size

[SwampCat]

I currently have a two frame, manual extractor.  I am about ready to move up to a motorized, radial extractor.  Reading some of the posts on this forum, it seems most opinions would opt for a 12 or 18 frame extractor.  An old time bee keeper I know told me I should only get a six frame, because that is all a single person could handle anyway - by the time I decapped six frames, the extractor would be finished running six frames and be ready for more.  He said I could not keep up with a 12 or 18 frame extractor.  This guy has worked bees for 71 years, so I usually take him at his word.  What say you.

[iddee]

I have seen 2 women feed a 60 frame extractor. It depends on a lot more than just the size of the extractor.

[SwampCat]

I have seen 2 women feed a 60 frame extractor. It depends on a lot more than just the size of the extractor.

I don't doubt 2 women could feed a 60 frame extractor - but I am one man.  I know it depends upon how even the frames of honey are capped - if the caps can all be removed with a knife, or if they have to be scraped, or something like that.  But, with the exception of the condition of the capped honey and its relation to the frame, what else would I need to consider.  This is a one man operation.  I hate to spend $800 for a six frame when I should have spent $1200 for a 12 or 18 frame.  But I also hate to buy something I don't need.

[Tommyt]

There is another thread on a different page all votes are no less than 12
and of those, most say 12 is enough.
Where are you located? If your selling your 2 frame. I may want it.
I want to see if I can make an extractor for Top bars
and a 2 frame would be good to tinker with


Tommyt

[SwampCat]

There is another thread on a different page all votes are no less than 12
and of those, most say 12 is enough.
Where are you located? If your selling your 2 frame. I may want it.
I want to see if I can make an extractor for Top bars
and a 2 frame would be good to tinker with


Tommyt

I am in SW Arkansas.  Can I keep up with a 12 frame extractor without killing myself.  How long does it take a 12 frame to extract the honey, under normal conditions.

[iddee]

Why worry about that? If it takes you two hours to uncap, the extractor will sit and wait. There is no reason why you have to uncap as fast as it works. Do you spin the two framer with one hand while uncapping the next two? I don't see where uncapping time has anything to do with the extractor.

[tandemrx]

How many hives do you have? Plan to have?

Do you have a permanent place for your extractor or are you going to have to move it?

Do you ever plan on loaning it out?

What are your facilities for cleaning the extractor (on the lines of - are you going to have to move it).

I am not saying you want a portable one, but you have to think about how you are going to move it around if you don't have a dedicated honey house with cleaning facilities.

I have about 8-9 hives and probably won't go higher.  My 6 frame extractor is more than enough to meet my needs and semi-easy to move when I need it or move it to wash it, but it is still kludgy to move around.  I still prefer it to be a 2 person operation.

I have now taken to putting the extractor in the back of my truck and going to the local manual car wash so I can use their high pressure hot water sprayer to clean it out (I give one good rinse when back home).  hot water is so useful for cleaning and although I can hook a hose to my laundry hot water spigot to outside the house, it is nice to have pressure as well to help get rid of some propolis along with the sticky honey/wax mess.

[woodchopper]

 We've got a 20 Maxant Radial that we bought brand new last year. There are many things to consider before you buy a extractor and the ability to "feed" one as you say is only one of those things.
 My wife uncaps the frames and then hands them to me to place in the extractor. It might take a few minutes extra to do it this way but because the extractor is so efficient we make up the time on the other end of the process. A extractor doesn't have to be filled to capacity every time you use it. As long as the load is even it'll work just fine. We can run ours with 2,4,5,10,16, or 20 frames and because the unit doesn't wobble it gets the honey out of the frames quicker than lighter extractors.
 Cleaning ours is done with a hose hooked up to the water heater while it sits in the cellar or on warm days we carry it up the bulkhead stairs and use the garden hose which we leave charged in the sun to warm it up a bit. Because it weighs 125 lbs empty we wait until a friend of mine is visiting but the whole cleaning process only takes 10 minutes and we only have to do it once a year.
 We had a Mann-Lake 18 frame radial before this Maxant and it swayed from side to side while it was doing it's job which reduced it's efficiency by quite a bit. We even tried lag bolting it to a pallet and it still rocked too much. I could carry it up the bulkhead stairs myself for cleaning.
 If you keep an eye out on the classified ads you'll see second hand Maxants 1400L's  listed at the same price as what they paid for them five or ten years ago and people are buying them for that. The extra money you'll spend on a quality extractor up front might actually cost you less over the long haul when you factor in resale value into the equation.
 When we first started beekeeping 7-8 years ago we thought we'd someday work up to 10 hives. We had 11 last year and would have had 21 this year had our package order not been cut back and delayed. Also a few weekends ago we helped a fellow club member extract two supers he had from a deadout. He said ours was much faster than using the clubs Maxant 3100.
 Here it is: Maiden Flight of the Maxant 1400 Part 1
               Maiden Flight of the Maxant 1400 Part 2
 Here's the 3100:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpo8jmxV4P0&NR=1
                         Maxant 3100P Finished Extracting 4 6 gallons

[AliciaH]

I have a 6-frame that I dearly love.  I only had a few hives at the time, but in truth, it was also all I could afford.  I still can't afford to upgrade yet, but for a one-person operation, it just means I'll be extracting longer.  So, if you do have a lot of hives, or plan to, go as big as your funds allow you.

The issue of having to move it is a big one.  It's not all about the size, it's the weight of the motor.  I didn't think to check that out before hand and I'm not sure how much bigger I can go and be able to do what I need to without help.  I'm a one-woman operation here, so you can lift more than me, but it is a consideration.

I'd recommend keeping the 2-frame manual, though (sorry, Tommy!).  It will be nice to have the option of only extracting a couple of frames on the fly without having to pull out the big guns.

[sterling]

Most of the bigger extractors are radials. So i'm using foundationless frames in the honey supers. Can I use a radial with foundationless frames? I read somewhere that a tangential is better for foundationless frames.

[woodchopper]

Most of the bigger extractors are radials. So i'm using foundationless frames in the honey supers. Can I use a radial with foundationless frames? I read somewhere that a tangential is better for foundationless frames.

I would think a tangential would be harder on the foundationless frames. Using a radial I'd start off slower than usual to get some or most of the honey out of those frames before I cranked up the speed.

[Michael Bush]

I wouldn't get anything bigger than an 18 or 20 because it won't fit through my kitchen door.  I wouldn't buy anything smaller than an 18 or 20 because it's too small to be of much use...